Tax holiday starts Friday

As a father of five, summer is always a welcome time of year. However, as July turns into August, the school year is quickly approaching, and students and parents at all education levels will need to prepare to head back into the classroom.

For Florida's families, there is great news.

During the 2014 Legislative Session, the Legislature and Gov. Rick Scott approved Florida's Back to School Sales Tax Holiday. From Friday through Sunday, select "back to school" items will be available for you to purchase, tax-free.

Items which are exempt from both state and county discretionary sales taxes are clothing (excluding watches, jewelry, umbrellas and handkerchiefs), footwear (excluding skis, swim fins, roller blades and skates), wallets and bags (excluding briefcases, suitcases and other garment bags) that cost $100 or less. School supplies that cost $15 or less per item are exempt. Also exempt will be the first $750 of the sales price for personal computers and related accessories purchased for noncommercial home or personal use. This includes tablets, laptops, monitors, input devices and nonrecreational software; however cell phones, furniture and devices or software intended primarily for recreational use are not exempt.

For example, your savings on a $750 computer, if the tax rate is 7 percent, would be $52.50 that weekend.

Some studies estimate that the overall tax savings for Floridians will be $36.3 million on these items. You don't have to be a student to enjoy these great savings, so please take advantage of this opportunity to purchase supplies tax-free for the entire family.

Finally, while you are shopping for these items, please purchase additional supplies to donate to your child's classroom teacher or a nearby school in your area. There are always students in need. If we can all give just a few items we can make it a great year for each one of our students.

State Sen. John Legg, a Republican who represents portions of Hillsborough and Pasco counties, is a Florida teacher with more than 10 years of classroom teaching experience. He is also a school administrator and the current chairman of the Senate education committee.